Valier, MT to Choteau, MT, 58 miles

I was one of the lucky 7 guys who had to sleep in the downstairs large room of the B/B. Last night however, when I arrived at the B and B Blaine showed me a small room connected to the large room. I grabbed it so it was relatively quiet sleeping for me. Plus I had a bed in the room.

Stone School Inn, Valier

In the morning we all gathered in the downstairs dining room and had eggs and bacon with a few pastries. While we were eating, I asked Tom if he would like to ride with us today to Choteau. I enjoyed riding with Tom and he was nice to Sean too so he was a great person to share the day with.

Tom and Sean talking early in the ride

We rolled out about 8 am and went due east for about 15 miles until we hit a frontage road paralleling I 15. We took this frontage road south until we got to the town of Conrad. On this road Ken raced by us heading toward downtown Conrad.

Ken passing us

Our lunch stop was in a supermarket parking lot. Blaine and Thea said they would make each of us sandwiches to order. I have to admit the sandwich they made for me was better than any I made on the trip. I didn't eat it in the parking lot but saved it to eat later at a nicer location.

When we got to Conrad Thea and Blaine took orders for sandwiches and made each us a sandwich of our choosing.

Blaine and Thea inside the trailer making sandwiches for the riders

Tom, Sean and I then headed out west on Hwy 219/the Conrad/Pederoy Rd. Last time I was on this road we had strong headwinds, but not today. It was cool with not much wind. While on this road we saw a few oil pumps working and hay rolled into large bails.

When we came to the intersection of Hwy 220 we turned south. We saw Recumbent Ken in this area and he suggested we go a little farther to find a nice place to sit and eat our sandwiches.

There were several ups and downs with some good long downhills. About 10 miles down this road Ken saw some hay bails and called us to stop so we could have lunch. We hung out here about 1/2 and hour.

Sean trying to push a Montana hay bale

Tom, Sean and I then headed south and reached Conrad about 1 pm. We bought some drinks and tried to sit in a park but there were nasty ants that immediately jumped on us. We decided to skip the park and just ride to the hotel.

The hotel was very comfortable with large rooms. At dinner time Ken W. packed about 12 of us in the Excursion and we drove down to a restaurant for dinner.


After lunch the weather turned sunny and it was an easy ride to Choteau,


Mustard fields

Getting ready to leave our lunch spot on the side of the road

Sign on the right showing that we have a very long downhill coming